Today marks the 1st year anniversary of my CRAZY journey building up a POSITIVE, INSPIRATIONAL facebook community (101 Powerful Affirmations) from scratch to its current manifestation where we are touching 1 to 3 million lives every single week.

In this blog post, I'll touch on the MINDSET part of how I was able to build up a 53,000 strong facebook community from scratch in 1 year with NO spending on facebook ads and NO (traditional) media coverage (At least not that I know of since I haven't been formally interviewed on TV/Radio yet =P)

Alright, you ready?

Here we go…

1) It starts with a DREAM…

Many of the 5 points I'm going to discuss with you today may sound like clichés and that's because they truly are the foundations of any successful (ad)venture.

All successful (ad)ventures start with a DREAM…

My DREAM (VISION/MISSION) is to TOUCH as many lives as I can so as to bring more LOVE, HOPE and JOY to the world.

I started my journey towards this DREAM more than 5 years ago when I left my job to start RichGrad.com – At that point, this vision wasn't as clear as it is now (You should look at my old name cards *sheepish grin*) but it didn't matter… I knew I was going to be doing something that makes a positive difference to the world.

And herein lies one of the greatest lessons I learned. You don't have to know EVERYTHING before you get started. You just have to get moving in the general direction of your dreams, keep going and you'll figure things out along the way.

While I was figuring out my specific direction, I began volunteering as a life coach helping others who were lost figure out where they were and where they wanted to go.

In the process of doing that and after attending one of many life-changing seminars, my own dream was crystallized.

Now I'm not going to tell you that the journey is going to be easy (because believe me, I had to go through so many obstacles just to get to this particular point in my life) but having a DREAM… having a specific direction… VISION… MISSION… is going to help you tremendously in this process.

2) Think BIG.

I mean BIG… whatever goal you have… multiply it by 10… YES, 10!

When I started my 101 Powerful Affirmations Facebook Community, I set a goal of hitting 10,000 ‘likes' in 2 months because I knew that in order to get to my DREAM of touching AS MANY LIVES AS I CAN, I needed a core group of positive like-minded people in there to ‘like' the posts and spread the word (The tipping point as Malcolm Gladwell puts it).

However, when I went around and told everyone about my goal, I multipled it by 10… Yes… I actually went around passionately telling everyone I wanted to attract 100,000 fans in 2 months so we can change the world in a BIG way! (That's why I get so many “This guy is crazy!” looks from people… Now I'm used to it… LOL)

Because of that, we hit the 10K fans mark comfortably in less than 2 months…

Today, we are at 53,000 fans with a weekly reach of 1 to 3 million unique users on facebook.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Think BIG… and if you're already doing that… Think BIGGER =)

3) ACT in spite of fear

“My Mission is GREATER than my FEARS” ~ Yee Shun-Jian

Did you guys honestly think I didn't feel any fear when I started on this crazy journey?

Let me tell you something…

This is one of the SCARIEST journeys I've ever taken… But it's also one of the most exciting and fulfilling ones =)

I'm actually pretty shy by nature… (believe it or not… LOL) And to fulfill my dream… my mission… my vision, I have to REALLY, MASSIVELY step out of my comfort zone.

One of my GREATEST fears is actually public speaking (actually I think it's the number 1 fear anybody has).

But I also know that the best way to get my message out there is to go out and TELL people about it.

So I acted in spite of fear…

Check out this youtube video of me sharing my DREAM… and explaining why I do what I do….

Yes, I know it… I'm not a polished speaker but did that matter? (Well, from the millions of lives we are touching today because I acted in spite of my fears, I would have to say a big, fat NO!)

What are you afraid of today that you're not doing? When is NOW a good time to act in spite of your fears?

4) ACT in spite of circumstances

If you knew the circumstances surrounding the founding of my 101 Powerful Affirmations facebook community, you'd bet against it succeeding (Read the FULL story here).

In summary, I was almost bankrupt back then… It was one of the most painful periods of my life but I believed (and I still believe) that everything happens for a reason. So instead of wallowing in self-pity, I channeled my energies full out into pursuing my dreams (of touching as many people as I can so as to bring more love, hope and joy to the world). This community is the result of that dream.

Whatever your circumstances, remember that everything happens for a reason. You can wallow in self-pity or you can allow something positive to emerge from it. The choice is yours. I hope you make the RIGHT one =)

5) Align yourself with people who share the same PURPOSE

Finally, I want to share something with all the solopreneurs out there.

You're NEVER going to accomplish anything great if you try to do everything on your own.

The main reason why my 101 Powerful Affirmations facebook community took off is because I aligned (and continue to align) myself with people who share the same PURPOSE, the same PASSION to make a POSITIVE difference to the world.

These are people I call my ANGELS (which I believe are God-sent) to assist me in this grand vision…

They are all volunteers who want to see a more BEAUTIFUL world… and are rallying behind this cause (to touch lives and bring more LOVE, HOPE and JOY to the world).

I still take on operational roles like posting powerful affirmations and quotes to the 101 Powerful Affirmations facebook community but because of my angels, I can take on a more STRATEGIC role, moving forward as they assist me more and more with the operational roles.

Right here, right now… I just want to thank all my angels from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for believing in me (when so many others didn't). Thank you for taking this crazy journey with me. Thank you for volunteering your time and energies to make the world a better place for everyone to live in. I thank God for bringing you all into my life and I hope that HE will be able to bless you as much as you've been able to bless the millions of people who are impacted by what the 101 Powerful Affirmations Facebook community stands for.

Thank you to every single fan and every supporter of 101 Powerful Affirmations Facebook community as well. We wouldn't get to where we are today without you.

I hope this post will serve as an inspiration for you to go pursue YOUR OWN DREAMS. I'm just an ordinary guy… with an extraordinary dream… the difference between me and most people is… I DARE to act on my Dreams… in spite of criticism, in spite of potential humiliation, in spite of fear. You can do that too.

Last but not least, I want to give JESUS all the glory. The supernatural growth in our community could not be possible without His divine guidance and intervention. I'm going to leave you with one final quote which I've seen manifested (and continuing to manifest) in my life over and over again…

Do your BEST and God will do the REST.

God bless you all!

To Your Success,
Yee Shun-Jian
Founder & Chief Happiness Officer,
RichGrad.com
ReadyFireIM.com
Christian-Affirmations.com
101PowerfulAffirmations.com